I can’t believe it has been 3 years since I ventured out of rube state and fell hook line and sinker for an I-phone. I’ve been mustering up the courage to replace Ol’ Blue since she started down death’s path in December. Lookie here, isn’t she a beaut? Ol’ Blue, my glorious 5C. She has been failing with weird screen freezes, apps that quit working, and ‘not enough memory to do that’ messages. Sigh. I still love her color, it...

There is something magical about the costumes and images Jack Frost paints on crisp winter mornings. As he whisks his paintbrush over each surface, the formation of tiny little crystals sparkles in the sunlight. He performs together with the sun, on each stage they play on, creating a temporary world chilled in white. On Valentine’s Day, he sprinkled tiny hearts and Cupid’s arrow hidden in the stars. Frost is the most sophisticated of poets. – Peter Davison He moves swiftly...

When Valentine’s Day rolls around I always think of Mom. As I walked past the shelf I saw the last bear I bought for her. I gave it to her on Valentine’s day six years ago. Seeing the bear took me right back to that time in her life. And ours. It was a challenging time but also filled with precious memories. Memories I still have and ones she probably didn’t remember due to her dementia. That Valentine’s Day six years...

“It’s easy to net zero the cost of Valentine’s Day when you’ve been married for decades.” Step 1: Find a notepad that came to you free from the American Heart Association’s ‘give us $ mailer’. They always have some kind of heart on it. Step 2: Brew fresh coffee. Step 3: Find a free pen that you picked up at an office somewhere. Step 4: Write an affectionate note to your hubby (who’s still sleeping, knowing you forgot to get...

As a 50-something’r, (is that even a word?) I’m no different from a 20-something’r (might as well make it twice) trying to figure out the big questions in life. “What the hell is life all about Alfie?” (Okay, yeah, I get it, I’m not a guy and I’m married, but still, the movie asked a lot of questions! The 1966 version is more familiar to me, and my mom loved Shelley Winters…I’m pretty sure that’s where my name came from, but...

When you feel the world shrinking in on you, and your feeling a bit limp and need some nourishment, what do you do for a pick me up? What do you do to spark flames of creativity peeking out at you through the forest of trees? What do I do to get out of that ‘it’s so damn cold here cabin fever’ feeling? I grab a creative partner and go on an adventure to feed our souls and get our thoughts spinning...